Lucifer Grimm
by dngn4774
Summary: James Cavanaugh has been recruited by the DEO to defeat some of the most powerful metahumans in the world. Whether its battling evil cult leaders, a covenant of Russian vampires, or a international conglomerate that wishes to conquer the world, James and his team will fight any evil that presents itself. Can the "Core Group" be victorious or is all hope already lost?
1. Meet James Cavanaugh

**Somewhere in Afghanistan:**

I've been in this room for hours and each minute is making me lose even more hope than the last. The light is bright one moment and dim in the next, my chair is wobbling and on a clean steel table sits a glass of water that I haven't touched. All I can do is stare at the two-way mirror across the side of the room. Behind that glass are several men who are about to determine my fate.

I saw through their tricks, they adjusted the lighting to loosen my focus, they mess with my chair to keep me uncomfortable, and they hope I drink the water so I have to beg them to use the bathroom. Cops in Gotham and New York used the same tactics on my uncle, it didn't work on him and it won't work on me.

They were hoping my story would change but it didn't, I stood my ground and replied with the truth, I can only hope that saves me. I can tell that they don't believe me and I understand why. To be honest, I wouldn't believe myself if I wasn't there to see it happen. I can still picture their faces in my mind Wu, Hayden, Walt, Redding, Schaefer, and of course Sergeant Taylor. They were the closest thing I had to an actual family and now they were dead. These men have already decided my fate, the only question that remains is: Where do they send me now?

Suddenly someone new enters the room; he is tall African American male with a stern face. He appears to be about 45 years old with slight greying in his hair and his stubble. His most noticeable features wear the scars on his neck and hands. It looked like someone once tried to garrote him, judging by his physique I doubt that whoever tried is still able to talk about it. His eyes have an exhausted look and his disposition reads that he is in no mood to waste any time.

"Lance Corporal James Cavanaugh?" He asked.

"Yes Sir!" I replied.

"Due to the recent circumstances, The United States Government feels that your services would be better utilized in the Department of Extranormal Operations."

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense" I said, "I still have two months left on my tour, and I don't remember signing anything with the DEO!"

"Well that's why I brought these documents" he said, pointing at the folder being held in his right hand. "All you have to do is sign the papers to start your transfer." He explained.

"But I don't want to leave the Marine Corps!" I protested.

He sighed placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose "Look kid, the Marine Corps doesn't care if you want to leave, _it_ wants _you_ to leave. So please just sign these papers so we can both get on with our lives."

I finally understood what was happening to me. Staff Sergeant Winters didn't believe my story but he also knew he didn't have enough to dishonorably discharge me. All he did know was that I was a metahuman and I've had a flawless record until last night. Rather than trying to put me in a cell he threw me into an agency that was looking for expendable metahumans.

"So, what happens if I don't sign?" I asked.

"You go face a tribunal, you'll probably escape conviction but your reputation will be ruined and no marine will ever trust you again." He said sincerely.

I sighed, briefly weighing my options "Gotta pen?"

"Of course", he replied.

After I signed the forms I handed them back to this man.

"Welcome to the DEO. I will be your handler." He exclaimed joyfully.

Before we exited the hallway I asked "So what do I call you?"

"Charlie Brown, or Agent Brown if you prefer", he said.

"Seriously?" I sighed, struggling not to facepalm.

Looks like it's gonna be a long flight home.


	2. You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

After the papers were processed, James and Agent Brown entered the Flight Hanger to board the the Brenner TX-19 or as Agent Brown liked to call it "The Black Betty." On the outside Black Betty looked like large stealth bomber. It almost had the shape of an arrowhead except the tail and the wings gave it an M pattern on its rear. James and Agent Brown entered the lounge room; it had white walls, suede seats, a gray carpet and mahogany furniture.

"Wow! Pretty high end for a government aircraft", James commented.

"We make full use of the resources we are given." Agent Brown replied.

"Nice to see our tax dollars at work" James mused, barely hiding any sarcasm behind the statement.

Agent Brown hovered instinctively towards the minibar pouring a small glass of scotch. "Take a seat Cavanaugh, we have a lot to talk about", he said before taking a long sip from his glass.

James sat down and asked "Where should we start?"

Agent Brown slowly walked over to the seat across from James, "Why don't you tell me about what happened last night."

"What would be the point? You've already read my statement." James protested.

"I don't doubt the truthfulness of your statement, If I thought you were lying I wouldn't have bother recruiting you" Charlie said in a reassuring tone. "I just think it would be helpful if I heard your full side of the story."

"Fine" James reluctantly conceded, "Let's just get this over with."

**24 hours ago, James point of view:**

I was cleaning my sidearm when Corporal Hayden walked into the barracks.

"Cavanaugh, Wu, Quinn! Sergeant Taylor wants us assembled for our briefing in ten minutes. That means be ready in five", Hayden said in an assertive voice before quickly exiting.

"Sounds like things are about to get interesting!" Wu smirked.

"Don't get cocky Brendon; I can only save your life so many times." I said with a grin.

"Oh please!" Brendon retorted while strapping on his helmet, "You would have never made out of basic if it wasn't for me."

Jessica chuckled while putting on her chestgear, "Boys and their egos."

"Ready yet Quinny", I asked impatiently?

"Almost there Jimmy" she smirked while retying her boots; she knew how much I hated being called Jim.

"That's Lance Corporal Cavanaugh to you rookie!" I shot back in a snarky manner. I may have only had the higher rank for five months now, but I was already infatuated with playing the seniority card.

Just before we exited our quarters Wu asked "Wait a minute, we're not gonna do it?

"Do we really have too?" PFC Quinn asked reluctantly.

I shrugged, "Well it's always been a tradition with our team." I emphasized.

We huddled and each placed a hand in the center, "3, 2, 1, Oorah!" we all shouted before exiting the room.

When we entered the briefing the only people in the room were the Sergeant and all three Corporals. Like always we were the first team to show up, and our CO delivered a self assured sneer to his fellow Corporals. Sergeant Taylor growled, he appreciated punctuality but had no patience for showboating.

One by one the other marines entered each hoping they were not the last to arrive. Finally PFC Sinclair stumbled in, with his tail between his legs, even the new kid Kilbourn managed to show up on time.

Sergeant Taylor roared "PFC SINCLAIR! YOU WERE TOLD TO BE HERE IN 10 MINUTES OVER 13 MINUTES AGO, DO YOU CARE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE WASTED THREE MINUTES OF OUR TIME?" Corporal Schaefer could only shake his head in disappointment.

"MY APOLOGIES SERGEANT", Sinclair yelped "I WAS TRYING TO ADJUST THE SIZE OF MY HELMET SIR!" I pitied Sinclair; his helmet was actually bigger than his head. It seemed cruel to put such a frail kid in the ground forces, he could have would've fared much better in one of the tech divisions. He probably would not have had so much to prove if his father wasn't such a gung-ho politician.

After the Sergeant cooled off he regained his focus and began to fill us in. "Listen up Marines! We have fresh intel that an insurgent group has acquired a new stockpile of weapons. The weapons are currently being held in a small fortress approximately 3 klicks east of COP (coalition outpost) Margah. Our task is to eliminate all insurgents in the area and deliver the weapons to COP Margah. Understood?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" we all replied.

**18 hours ago:**

The sun was about to set. After doing some reconnaissance we were all in position. All of the insurgents were either armed or in close proximity to a weapon, 12 guards outside only five of which were facing south, 3 guards were on the roof, 10 guards inside with the containers, and no civilians were in sight. Sergeant Taylor and fire team 1 held the high ground with a mortar in place to penetrate the walls; they were about 500 meters south of the target. Fire team 3 was able to prone within 400 meters southwest of the target. Finally fire team 2, my team, was located 475 meters southeast of the target. We waited for the Sergeant's signal and the rest was second nature.

Fire team 1 fired the first mortar shell, killing 6 hostiles and caving in the south wall of the building. Fire team 3 provided suppressive fire while my team advanced 100 meters. A second mortar round was fired killing only 2 hostiles this time. Within 2 and a half minutes the enemy had formed a line 50 yards south of the target area and our full rifle squad had mobilized itself at 300 yards south of the target area, at this point in the firefight it was 15 to 13.

As soon as the hostiles recovered enough to fire back we knew something was terribly wrong. The enemy was using modified rifles we have never seen before, firing purple, incendiary lasers that exploded on impact with any surface it touched. It became abundantly clear that cover was now useless so we all switched to prone. This only reaffirmed how crucial it was for us to recover the weapons.

Our opponents were clearly outmatched, even with the advanced weaponry, sloppy formations and poor communication tilted the odds in our favor. By the 8th minute the firefight was over. The only casualties from the firefight were Lance Corporal Redding and Corporal Fletcher.

Corporal Schaefer had some experience in combat medicine so he was called over to examine the wound. "It looks like these wounds have already cauterized, but the damage still looks severe." He inferred. He examined both wounds before he asked "Fletch, how far can you lift your arm?"

Corporal Fletcher could barely raise his arm before screeching in pain, it takes a lot of pain to make a Corporal scream that loud.

Schaefer winced immediately regretting his previous question. He turned to Dale "What about your leg Redding?"

Redding replied "It's pretty bad, Corporal Schaefer, the muscles seem dead but I can still feel pain in it."

Corporal Hayden stepped between Schaefer and Taylor "There's no way that he can walk on that" he concluded.

"Private Kilbourn, you have family in the weapons industry, don't you?" Sergeant Taylor asked.

"Um, that's correct sir, my family owns a weapon's factory, it's a family business." Kilbourn confirmed.

Sergeant Taylor picked up one of the rifles and put it in Benji's hands, "Have you've ever seen anything like this?"

Private Kilbourn examined the rifle then said "It looks like it was modeled after an AK-47, but I've never seen an ammo system like this. Even Star Lab lasers overheat, but this seems to have a cooling system and liquid cartridges that slowly regenerate, it amazing!"

"That's enough Private!" Taylor said. He looked at Redding and Schaefer, exhaled, and spoke, "Rifle teams 1 and 2 inspect the remains of the target building and search for as many of these weapons as you can find. Private Kilbourn, keep an eye on Redding and Fletcher. Lance Corporal Fuentes, search any undamaged vehicles then drive your team back to COP Margah, use extreme caution and keep an eye out for IED's. I'm going to radio in a transport for the weapons shipment.

We searched through the rubble, gathering anything that looked suspicious. Besides more of these strange rifles, Wu found some time stamped documents the earliest dating back to 4 days ago. It was written in a foreign language, we couldn't read it but we were certain it wasn't Arabic.

Deep down I wanted to tell them about how the lasers reminded me of my powers, but I couldn't, I knew if they saw that side of me things would never be the same. Maybe I was selfish, or maybe I just wanted to be accepted.

Suddenly we heard shots fired. All of our remaining members (teams 1 & 2) advanced to the north side of the building to see 8 men glaring back at us. 6 of the men were wearing identical uniforms. They wore all black armor with glowing red goggles over their eyes. Each had a full black ballistic masks and a purple ^ logo on its forehead and were equipped with customized rifles. The other two men looked completely different. The taller man was wearing a black suit with charcoal grey pinstripes, a white dress shirt, and a matching tie. He was holding a black sword with purple vapors fuming from the dark steel. The shorter man was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask with a tattered long sleeve shirt and ripped jeans. He had throwing knives gripped between each finger.

The man in the suit moved forward a step, stared directly at me "You weren't supposed to be here." He said with a light Scottish accent.

"Oh dear! It looks like we'll just have to kill them all!" The shorter man exclaimed in a British accent, quickly raising his knives.

"OPEN FIRE!" Sergeant Taylor commanded.

**Back on the plane:**

"After that, things got pretty hazy." James said. "We fired our weapons but they were useless against these men. We were all dead or wounded before any of us could get to the special weapons. All I really remember is lying on the ground bleeding with the man in the suit standing over me. He was about to finish me when I blasted a hole through his chest. I thought I killed him but he just vanished and reappeared unscathed. After that I passed out, when I awoke my wounds healed themselves and I was taken to an interrogation room where I eventually met you."

"Wow!" was all Agent Brown could manage to say.

"Any more questions", James asked?

Agent Brown was about to continue before he looked at James then said "They can wait, maybe you should get some rest, you look exhausted."

"Thanks Charlie! It's rare to find someone who has your back. I don't know what's in store for me with the DEO but if you're calling the shots I'm sure it won't be that bad." James said while reclining his seat.

"Sure thing Cavanaugh." Charlie smiled drinking the last sip of his scotch. He was surprised how much James reminded him of himself at that age.

_**Please review! I'd really love to hear your opinions on this. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. **_


	3. First Impressions

**Manhattan, New York City**

**James' Point of View:**

Upon further questioning on the flight home, it was clear that the Charlie knows of my powers, my uncle, and my bank accounts. Brown has assured me that the DEO is willing to overlook my past and that they won't freeze my accounts or confiscating my passports. To be honest, I'm not sure if I was supposed to view that statement as the DEO extending an olive branch or a warning that they can make my life very uncomfortable, he probably meant both.

By the time I entered my apartment complex I knew what I needed to do. First, I picked up my mail from the front desk and checked it on the table. It was all spam, local gatherings in the community center, an invitation to the estate's country club (_no thanks_), free gospels from the church of blah blah blah, and a couple of charity marathons that already passed. I checked the emails on my laptop too, it was mostly ads again but this time I found a picture of my aunt Maggie and my cousin Erin. After that I ordered dinner from my Q phone, the Jade Lotus was one of the best restaurants in the city. Tonight I was actually glad to be put on hold; it gave me time to pace through my apartment. I counted slowly in my head: _four, five, six, six bugs, eight if you counted my laptop and my phone_. I ate dinner and watched _The _Newsroom, it was a great show but a little too theatrical. Most of the cast were a too self-righteous in some moments of the program; I don't even think that the real Lois Lane is as psyched to be a journalist as half of these guys. I slept early that night, tomorrow was gonna be my first day working for the DEO.

**The Next Morning:**

It's been a day since I returned from Afghanistan but I've already gotten familiar with the new routine. I woke up at 0500 and got ready for my morning jog around Central Park. By 0700 I'd return home to lift some weights; I could never do this at a gym without attracting attention. After that I took a shower and prepared breakfast. Nothing beats some bacon and pancakes in the morning. Usually I would watch the news during breakfast by I had another goal in mind today, and I had to make sure it was completed before I left for work.

I needed to contact Kieran without alerting any surveillance. Fortunately, my uncle and I have spent years developing a system of communication specifically for these scenarios. I would start by going on , it was a political forum site that would select a controversial issue each week and allow its users to contest the validity of each argument presented. This week's topic was Senator Arthur Whitfield's comments that urged congress to pass more anti-meta legislation. Whitfield built his political career by convincing religious fundamentalists and the conservative majority that metahumans and aliens are the source of all of America's problems. Under his proposed bill metahumans would have to list their powers to the government and register their home addresses like sex offenders. The process was simple, all I had to do was enter the forum and check for Kieran's fake login _americafirst1776_. He would start each week by immediately taking the side he knew I'd be against, in this case with the meta hate groups. After finding his comment I would find the nearest comment that supported my uncle's view and reply with a strong disagreement. Once Kieran viewed my comment he would know not to contact me until I gave him the signal to. The only way to reopen communications would be for me to repeat the process but respond positively to someone who had a similar view to my own.

Now that that was sorted I could leave for work. I picked up my motorcycle from the complex's parking lot. At first I almost flew back when I pushed down on the gas pedal, I forget how much torque my bike had. After a few seconds I was in my old rhythm, I guess what they said about riding bike's was true after all.

**Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City:**

James and Agent Brown both entered an abandoned warehouse. The walls were covered in graffiti, the ground was covered in dust, syringes, and rat droppings, what was left of the ceiling was rotted by water damage from the upper floor, and almost all of the windows were shattered.

"You sure you have the right address?" James asked.

"Yeah, this is the place." Agent Brown affirmed, as he slowly walked towards the center of the floor.

He crouched down and began to brush away some dust revealing a thin, rectangular gap in the floor at his feet. Brown quickly removed what looked like a metrocard from his trench coat and entered the card into the gap. Suddenly a click was heard and a small door began to open as an elevator booth arose from the ground.

"Let's go James" Brown said as he held the elevator door.

James entered shaking his head, "I really should have seen that one coming."

The elevator lowered into a small passageway. James followed Brown down the corridor until they reached a large security door with a black orb at the top. Agent Brown placed his eyes into the retinal scanner, after a blue light quickly ran past his eyes a cylinder protruded from the door. Brown then put his arm into the cylinder as the same blue light scanned what appeared to be a bar code on Brown's arm. The cylinder retracted into the door and the black orb started to glow.

Charlie took a few steps back and said "This part always tingles, just try not to move."

"Sounds fun" James said.

A blue light projected from the orb slowly scanning up and down. James' body shivered as Agent Brown lightly twitched, it was clear that he has done this before many times. A robotic voice from the door proclaimed "Access level granted! Welcome A-Gent-Brown and Mis-Ter-Cav-An-Augh."

The security door opened revealing a massive operations center that was the size of Madison Square Garden. The entire facility looked like everything was made from industrial-strength metals and bulletproof glass. A large American flag and the D.E.O. logo covered the ceiling of the base. It was shaped into three rings (the middle one being the floor they just entered). Each ring had a central three dimensional structure unique to its floor, the top floor had a pyramid, the central floor had a sphere, and the bottom floor had a cube. The floors were connected to one another with two twisting staircases and six parallel elevators. James looked in amazement seeing hundreds of staff members walking by. Whether it was white coats, suits, body armor, mech-suits, or just black trench coats everyone looked like they had something important to do.

"Welcome to the Covert Operations and Risk Evaluation facility, but we like to call the place CORE." Are you ready for the tour Mis-Ter-Cav-An-Augh?" Charlie asked, imitating the robot voice.

"Yeah sure, where do we start?" James asked with a completely refocused expression.

"Top floor, let's take the stairs." Agent Brown replied. As both men began to slowly walk up the staircase, they began to interrogate one another. "What do you know about your parents?" Brown asked.

"Not much", James answered. "My father died just after I was born and my mother had to leave when I was five, she said she couldn't say why, but that she was doing it for me and she'll always love me."

"Is that why she left you with your uncle, the metahuman assassin?" Charlie asked, trying to press on a sore subject.

"Everyone in my family is a metahuman, but you already knew that didn't you?" James asked rhetorically, masking all emotion from his tone. Charlie was impressed to see that the boy could control his emotions so well. James continued, "My mother said I'd be safe with him, that he'd teach me how to survive. Oh, and Uncle Kieran prefers the term _Life Termination Consultant_, he says that _assassin_ makes it sound too personal. So why are you so interested with my family?" James inquired.

"Only your mother's side," Agent Brown answered, "We already have a file your uncle but your mother's family have proven to be far more elusive." After a brief pause Charlie shifted the subject, "What do you know about Apex Incorporated?"

"It's some xenophobic wide spread conspiracy theory claiming that the wealthiest corporations outside of the U.S. are in cahoots with one another for the sole purpose of destroying the American economy. It sounds like a pretty idiotic concept from people who don't understand modern economics; if one of big pieces where to fall it would knock down the rest of the puzzle, sort of like a house of cards." James concluded.

"Nice analogy James, it's good to see that all of those prep school classes weren't wasted on you." Agent Brown mused. "Unfortunately, Apex is real, just not in the sense that conspiracy nuts believe it to be." Brown stopped at the top step of the staircase and continued, "Apex has no interest in bankrupting the U.S., they wish to conquer the world, and I believe you and your new team are the only ones that can stop them." Agent Brown said firmly. "Now, let's continue the tour, we'll take the elevator down when we're done."

The compound was composed of 9 sections every section having a specific set of goals and responsibilities. Each floor was divided in half and the central structures where counted as the last three sections. Section one was mainly used for bureaucracy, it held a vast ocean of case files, field reports, and the evidence room. It is also where James was processed as a DEO recruit and received a bar code and his id card. Section two was responsible for managing the containment centers and interrogation rooms. Brown remarked that it was occasionally used to train recruits how to resist methods of torture. On the middle floor, Section three was the Forensic Science lab; it conducted tests to salvage whatever evidence could later be used for future trials, it would also be used a medical center for emergency purposes. Section 4 was the tech wing, the star attraction of almost every DEO base which was conveniently placed by the front entrance. Brown claimed that visiting congressmen would always try to find something to cut from the budget, so the Overseer placed the fancy gadget show in front, and ever since the base has yet to lose a penny. Section 5 was the armory; it was filled with meticulously upgraded weapons, armor, and first aid kits. Section 6 served as both the storage garage, and the recreation center. The storage garage had several in house mechanics and an exit tunnel for all DEO land vehicles. The rec-center provided a gym, library and cafeteria for all off duty staff members. The Pyramid was reserved for only agents with the highest clearance level. It was run by the Overseer, an independent agent that answers only to the director. Whenever an Overseer resigns, the job is generally passed down to the next agent with the longest tenure. The Sphere was responsible for securing the entire base. It contained the guards' barracks as well as the camera and turret controls to the entire base. The cube is where all mission control is assigned for the field agents. It was also the home of the arena, where teammates would test their skills on one another. Though gambling on these bouts was prohibited, punishments on this rule are rarely enforced. After Agent Brown and James completed the tour they both entered the cube and proceeded into their control room.

**James' Point of View**

I walked into mission control with Agent Brown to see two other people sitting down. The first person I saw was a young, white man who was about 6'4" in height and just over 230 pounds (my uncle trained me to take physical descriptions of people in short periods of time). He had a very muscular build and short dirty blonde hair. Judging by the white coat and the book of biotechnology in his hands, he was probably pre-med. The second person in the back was a slightly younger Indian woman around 5'5" and about 130 pounds. She had wavy, black hair with split bangs in the front, and a braided ponytail in the back, but most of her hair was covered by a gray wool knit beanie hat. Her face piercings, combat boots, and Jack Skellington t-shirt gave me an impression that she was pretty goth. Her eyes were mesmerized by a large computer screen and her fingertips were typing at a speed that no normal human being should be able to type.

Agent Brown spoke up, "Hi guys, please welcome the newest member of our team James Cavanaugh."

The young man instantly jumped up from his seat with enthusiasm, he moved up to me extending his hand and said "Pleased, to meet you, I'm Scott Harlan!" He exclaimed in a southern accent.

The girl briefly paused "…Nasiha" she muttered before gluing her eyes back to the screen.

"Um, Agent Brown, is this our full team?" I asked hesitantly.

"For now it is" Brown responded. "But don't worry about that too much, Nasiha is one of the world's greatest hackers and the young Dr. Harlan over here is an expert in nanotechnology. It's given him enough power to handle himself out in the field with you and his medical knowledge will be make him an essential part of our group."

"Thanks for those lovely words, Charlie" Harlan said with a grin. His over positive attitude was starting to get on my nerves.

"Do we meet your high standards, Cavanaugh?" Nasiha growled back.

I could tell that I judged them too hastily so I tried to make things right. "Yes of course, I'm sorry if I offended either of you." I said.

"Don't worry James" Harlan waved an arm and grinned, "I'm sure we'll all going to become great friends."

Agent Brown's phone began to vibrate. He checked the text and his expression turned blank. "I'm needed at section seven", he said, "Scott please take over until I get back."

"It would be a pleasure, Charlie." Harlan said still oblivious to whatever was about to take place in the pyramid.

Agent Brown exited the room and started walking to the elevator.

"What was that all about?" Nasiha asked with a look of worry on her face.

"I don't know, but we'll probably find out soon." I replied.

**Overseer's office, Section 7, CORE base, New York City:**

Agent Brown urgently entered into the office. When he opened the door he saw Overseer Bellamy standing in front of his desk with Cameron Chase. Brown spoke up "Overseer Bellamy, I arrived as soon as I could, is something wrong?"

"Actually I wasn't the one who called you here." Bellamy affirmed while a small cloud of smoke rose from behind him and Agent Chase.

"I called you here Agent Brown" said a voice, behind the desk. The office chair spun around, revealing a dark skeleton in a suit taking a second puff from his freshly lit cigar.

"Director Bones! I thought you were still in D.C." Agent Brown said with a puzzled look upon his face.

"I had some loose ends to tie up." Bones explained briefly look over to Agent Chase, he was probably hinting about the Batwoman situation but his eyeless sockets shifted back to Brown. "We're here to talk about you Charlie, **you** and **your team**." Bones clarified.

"I'm worried that you've become too attached to this operation." Bellamy stated aversely.

Chase interjected, "It has only been six months since you lost your son in Pakistan, perhaps you should take more time to grieve."

"And just hand this Op over to you! No thanks!" Brown objected, firing an intense glare at Chase. He breathed deeply then pleaded to the Overseer "I've grieved long enough and I am ready to lead field missions again. You've seen what I can do Fred, you know that I'm the right man for this job, and that this entire allegation is some passive aggressive coup for Chase to usurp my duties as a senior agent."

"Very well!" Bones said, putting out his cigar in an ashtray. "Agent Chase, Overseer Bellamy, please leave us."

"Nice to see that you haven't lost your bite Charlie", the Overseer commented while heading for the door.

Chase briefly paused before saying "I understand how from your point of view I may seem cold, but every decision I make is in the best interest of the DEO. "Just one last question," she asked, continuing once Brown nodded. "When you observe James, do you see an agent with the potential for greatness or do you just see a surrogate for your son?"

Agent Brown paused before rebutting "Chase, if you ever pull this stunt again you better hope I'm gone for good, cause if not I'll come back to destroy you and your prestigious career."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Chase smirked slowly exiting the office with Bellamy.

"Sometimes I wish you'd just shake her hand and get it over with. I can't stand her", Brown asserted. "She's arrogant and overzealous."

"She's young and ambitious" Bones defended, "She just more of an acquired taste." Bones lit up another cigar, puffing again than asked "How's the team coming along Cyrus?"

"Cyrus?" Charlie chuckled, "No one's called me by my real name since the nineties." The relief gradually wore off Agent Brown's face, "We've still got a long way to go but the results look promising. I could still use a few more members though, preferably metas who can fight on the field."

"I have two new members in mind for this team Mable Lowery and Elijah Carter." The Director affirmed.

"That's great news Director" Brown rejoiced. "Where do I find them?"

"Well Carter's a local we recruited straight from college he's being processed in Section One and Mable's currently located in Belle Reeve." Bones said rising from his seat. Bones walked over the door to the next room gripping his handle "I have to fly back to D.C. Try to read the kid in while the two of you pick up Lowery."

"Director there's just one more thing I had to disclose before you leave." Brown said before Bones looked back "I believe Cavanaugh's rifle squad was murdered by Aaron White."

"The Boogeyman?" Bones turned his head in amazement.

Charlie nodded in confirmation.

**Cambridge Tower, London, U.K.:**

Mr. White walked into the office of George and Richard Cambridge. Richard greeted him and said "Aaron, how is my favorite son-in-law?"

"I'm your only son-in-law." Aaron pointed out while grinding his teeth.

"Well a win by default is still a bloody win." Richard retorted.

George interrupted "Speaking of bloody how was your trip to Afghanistan? I hear that the weather's quite sunny this time of year."

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME THOSE WEAPONS WOULD BE TESTED ON US MARINES!" Aaron shouted ferociously.

Both twins stared back at him unphased. "My brother and I do not appreciate your tone Mr. White." Richard said.

"You seem to be taking this too personally." George added "We had to see how the weapons would perform on the field in a realistic combat environment. Now did you take care of the situation?"

Aaron looked at both of them with contempt. He was resentful by their actions and disgusted with his own. He hated his job but he knew how much of a necessity it truly was. "Yes, I cleaned up **your** mess, all of the evidence is gone and Edward erased each of the surviving witnesses' memories. The meta still has his memories but the Marine Corps has no interest in searching the desert for _a man in a suit_. They'll probably blame it on the insurgents and sweep it under the rug. In short, 6 marines are dead, 5 are injured and 2 are still missing."

Richard sighed, "Poor sods, we'll have to make sure that their sacrifices were not in vain, now let's move on to our next project. We'll have to arrange a meeting with the other executives."

George pulled out his Smartphone "I'll send out the invite."

"The meta I was mentioning before happens to be Melissa's son." Aaron highlighted.

George and Richard both glanced back at Aaron, now they were both irritated with the direction the conversation had taken. George spoke first saying "At this point the boy's relation to me is irrelevant." Before Aaron could object Richard used his telepathy to interrupt Aaron's thoughts "_**We both know where your allegiance lies, if the boy ever becomes a threat to Apex you will exterminate him, we expect nothing less from you.**_"

For a moment it looked like Aaron had begun to give up on the conversation, but then he asked "How would you explain that out of all the soldiers in Afghanistan, I am forced to fight the one person we all swore never to hurt?"

"It must be poor luck" Richard responded.

"My thoughts exactly" Aaron said with a deep hatred burning in his eyes. He stormed out of the office nearly smashing the steel doors on his way out.

Richard grinned "Well he's in a bad mood. Think we pushed him too far?"

"No" George diverged, "He's just upset, he's always had a soft spot in his heart for my daughter. Just let him throw his tantrum, he'll come back, he always comes back."

_**Sorry I dragged this chapter out so much but I would have been as effective if I cut it in half. Hope your liking the story so far. Please comment!**_


	4. Sparring Match

**The Cube, CORE Base:**

All three of them stood there in silence, waiting for Agent Brown to return. James leaned against a wall, slowly analyzing each object in the room without moving. Nasiha would remain at her desk typing but her eyes would occasionally shift to the clock on the wall. Harlan closed his medical book and began reading from the thin dossier that he pulled out of his messenger bag.

Nasiha finally looked to the others and asked "Hasn't he been gone for too long?"

Before either of them answered, Harlan's phone vibrated from his pocket. Scott immediately pulled out his phone and checked the incoming message.

"Is it Brown?" James asked as he and Nasiha both approached the desk.

"Uh-huh" Harlan affirmed, "He's telling me to start without him." He pulled out two more copies of his dossier from the carrier and handed them to his teammates. "So, has Charlie filled you in yet on what we're doing here?" Harlan asked, looking back at James.

"Something about fighting evil metahumans that are trying to conquer the world," James replied.

"In layman's terms, yes, but there's much more to it than that." Scott pointed out.

"Such as…" James retorted as he was trying to make sense of the files.

"Such as Apex is controlled by some of the most dangerous metas in the world and they have access to one of the greatest energy sources in existence." Nasiha added, "Ibithium or _Apex _Energy as they call it the purest energy source that the human race has ever encountered. After World War II the British government began experimenting with this substance to create the world's first supersoldiers."

"So, what went wrong?" James asked

Harlan clear his throat and began to take the reins from Nasiha, "At first the original tests appeared to be a success, the serum increased the soldiers' strength, speed, senses, and reflexes but there was a flaw in the design. After a few hours each of the test subjects began to lose their minds. They were consumed with rage and began mauling anything they saw. When security tried to stop the subjects their weapons were rendered useless. After the test subjects that were shot, they would just begin healing and rise up. Within a few seconds the security team was compromised and the subjects were about to escape. As a last resort the Lead Scientist authorized a lockdown for the testing room and filled the ventilation with Ibithium. After the catastrophe was over twenty four people died and the Brits scrapped the experiment."

"Then how did Apex get their hands on it?" James questioned, double checking the files. "Our dossiers have conveniently left that part out."

"To be honest we're not that sure," Nasiha interjected.

Harlan added in an affirmative tone, "what we are sure of is that they have perfected the serum because all Apex carriers have the same abilities of those test subjects with none of the drawbacks. Based on our records, they've had a history of using the serum to create new metahumans. As of last week, they have learned how to successfully weaponize it. Charlie tells me you've learned of their achievement first hand in Afghanistan."

"THAT WAS THEM?" James growled as purple and red waves of energy fumed from his clenched fists.

Harlan paused immediately realizing that he said too much. He tried to think of a way to rephrase his statement in a way that wouldn't result in James destroying the room. He finally submitted and said "I'm afraid so," staring down at James' hands.

The beams began to fade from one of James' hands before he blasted a hole in the wall with the other hand.

Nasiha stared at the wall and sighed, "You know that's coming out of your check."

**Terrebone Parish, Louisiana:**

It only took 90 minutes for the Black Betty to arrive in Louisiana. During the flight, Agent Brown began to bring Elijah up to speed. Elijah was well a mannered man, but it was obvious that he still lacked confidence in his abilities. Following the airfield, Agent Brown and Elijah Carter drove down the road; from there they could see it, the Belle Reve maximum security prison. After passing the gates both men exited the vehicle and began walking to the front enterence of the prison. Elijah's eyes shifted around the scenery, he ignored the inmates in the yard and was instead focused on the guards. Each of their faces were set in stone, none of them smiled, frowned, or even blinked (from what Elijah could gather). He couldn't escape their eyes; they were always looking but never staring.

"They're pretty intimidating aren't they?" Charlie said without losing pace and keeping his eyes forward. "This place tends to do that to you after a while. Belle Reve has the largest meta-inmate population in the nation, but don't mind them; no one ever leaves Belle Reve without permission from the state." Charlie pointed to a couple of inmates a few yards away, "See those collars around their necks, it stops their powers from working by keeping the metagene suppressed."

"Agent Brown, why exactly are we trying to recruit a **convicted felon**?" Carter asked.

Agent Brown shrugged "Well there are a few reasons we've come to acquire Mable, the first [reason] being that the Director suggested that we acquire Ms. Lowery. Since you are planning to work with the DEO long term, you should probably learn that when the Director suggests, he's really just insisting. An additional bonus to this is that the Warden is gonna hate the idea of surrendering this particular inmate, and I personally adore the thought of upsetting her. But I guess the answer that you're looking for is that I might have misled you earlier."

Elijah looked puzzled, "How did you mislead me?" He asked.

"Well earlier I said no one gets out of Belle Reve without the state's permission, but Mable is an exception to this rule. Lowery is the only person who has escaped Belle Reve, and she did it twice."

**Meanwhile at the Core Base:**

Nasiha was quickly scanning the files processing the information in her head before saying "Everything's ready on my end if you want to proceed."

"Sure thing!" Scott exclaimed. He looked over at James clearly seeing anger in his eyes. Harlan could tell that the way he handled _wall incident_ may have cost him James' respect. "You still looked upset; would you care to spar in the arena?"

James chuckled, "Are you sure you know what you're asking for? I wouldn't want to kill you before Agent Brown returns." He smirked.

"I've already cleared this with Charlie; we thought this would be an interesting way to access your skills, and though I appreciate your confidence you shouldn't underestimate me." Harlan pointed out.

"Same here," James shot back.

As the group approached their section of the arena, Nasiha began to unpack her dufflebag on the floor. She pulled out about a dozen patches and began to place them onto her teammates. "Please don't remove these until your session is over," she said while sticking the patches on James. Nasiha would occasionally speak in a manner that was as equally polite as it was threatening. As Nasiha placed the patches on Harlan she whispered, "Try not to lose Scott, I've got 100 riding on you to wipe the floor with the new kid." Harlan grinned and James scowled as Nasiha made her way to the moderator's box.

Scott took off his lab coat, revealing a short-sleeved navy blue combat shirt, and a utility belt. His shirt had a unique logo over the center of the chest. The emblem had a circle in its center surround by three thin bars positioned triangularly across his chest; the bottom bar was lighted with a light blue color. The belt consisted of a few pouches and several metallic capsules. Even his leggings looked deceptively athletic. He folded the coat in his arms and placed gently on a bench outside of the sparring zone. "As you can probably tell, this match will study the effects that ibithium has on your body and the damage it can have on an opponent in a realistic combat scenario."

James folded his leather jacket and placed it on the bench next to the lab coat. "Aren't there other less lethal ways of testing my abilities?" James asked.

"There certainly are other methods we could use, but they would take longer and would not give as much field experience as this would. After all, targets and dummies don't hit back." Harlan explained. "Plus it seems like a great way to let off some steam." He added.

They both walked into the arena, the room was brightly lit and vast in space. The walls rose far from the ground leading up to the spectator stands. The stands were almost completely empty with the exception of two people. One woman was wearing a costume; she had long, blood red hair and very pale skin. The other had a more average complexion and shoulder length blonde hair. Just above the stands was the moderator's box. It looked similar to one of the owner's boxes in a sports stadium. There were a few people in the moderator's box dressed in office attire but they were too far away to be identified.

Suddenly Nasiha's voice came over from the room's PA system. "Alright guys, you know the rules: whoever surrenders, passes out, or dies first loses. At random intervals of time I'll use the arena's software to change the battle conditions. Now let's have some fun!" Nasiha began the countdown from the microphone. "READY-"

"Last chance to walk away Harlan," James muttered.

"SET-"

Scott smirked "No thanks James, just remember not to hold back."

"GO!"

**The Arena, Core Base**

**James' Point of View:**

I charged at him immediately scanning for any weakness in his stance. He had good form but his left was slightly high. I moved forward with a right jab, but spinned with a left side kick. By the time he realized I wasn't punching, my foot had already connected with his ribcage. The force knocked his upper body towards me so I went for a forearm strike to the temple. Before my forearm could connect he caught it and twisted my arm behind my back. I broke the hold by pushing my body weight forward and wrapping my limbs around his right leg. Once we both propelled forward I held his upper body with my legs and snapped his right leg with my arms. Harlan screeched then kicked me in the face with his left foot. He rolled out of the way while both of us recovered. Blood was spouting from my broken nose but I didn't care, my healing would kick in soon anyway. Harlan was in a crouched position; he couldn't stand on his broken leg.

"You should just surrender Doc, you have no way of defeating me," I said while pointing out that my nose has already healed.

"Don't worry about me, this fight is just beginning." Harlan cried, as the second bar of his emblem began to light. He jabbed his leg with one of the capsules on from his belt and the bones in his leg twisted back into place as he sprinted towards me. "Did you think you were the only one who could heal?" He asked while throwing punches at me. He wasn't holding back this time. When he began to attack me I quickly noticed his speed and strength were now equal to my own. His form was now even better and his reflexes sharpened. As we took turns attacking and defending I began to admire his style. There was no waste in his fighting style; his movements were as precise as a machine. It was almost as if each move was calculated to perform a specific action for the next.

Harlan's jabs were like bullets, I blocked most of them but he landed four shots before knocking me back with an uppercut. Before my body could fly back, he grabbed my ankle and slammed me to the ground. As my body rolled up I could see his shin approaching my face. I caught his leg and elbowed down on the same spot I snapped earlier. Harlan winced in pain and came in for a powerful haymaker. I shot a quick blast of energy at his fist and swept his other leg, knocking him down. As I brought my fist down for a finishing blow, I heard an air horn noise and the ground shifted from metal to mud. Scott narrowly dodged the punch and lifted his knees, causing my body to flip over his head.

As I rose thunder clouds formed at the arena's ceiling. Digital rain washed upon us only making the mud slicker. I noticed that the final bar on Scott's Shirt was fully lit.

The light hearted expression was wiped off of his face as Harlan spoke up. "Like I said before Cavanaugh, don't hold back, because now you're about to fight me at full strength." Harlan pushed the circle in the center of the blue triangle on his chest. A blue aura covered his body and his dirty blonde hair started to glow a blackish gold.

As my hands began to leak out energy I looked back at Harlan and said, "Time to finish this!"

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

_**Hi Guys! Thank you all for your support and for waiting patiently for this chapter. I hope you like what I've published so far. I'll try to update this story more frequently. Please comment if you have any thoughts on the story or any criticisms.**_


	5. Belle Reve Blues

**Chapter 5- Belle Reve Blues**

**The Arena, James Point of View:**

Harlan and I stood across from one another, each of us looking for any weaknesses to exploit. All of Scott's cheerfulness was now deeply submerged and the look in his eyes told me he was ready for the real battle.

By now I've realized that this was more than just a test, this was my chance to prove that I deserve to be here. My hands bled with **rage**, **rage** from Afghanistan, **rage** from my joke of a childhood, **rage** from agreeing to become the DEO's newest guinea pig, and most of all **rage** from myself. If it's taking me this long to fight Harlan to a stalemate how can I expect to defeat the man in the suit? I was trained by one of the world's greatest assassin's yet I still can't wipe the floor with Dr. Blondie!—Enough! There's no point in me whining about the past and expecting the future to be different. I have to focus- I can't let the _rage_ take over—got to take things step by step starting with Super Saiyan Harlan. His healing, strength, and speed are all related to the capsules and bars on his shirt, so if I target the bars, I should have the upper hand.

The rain from before started to die down, the lightning stop flickering, and the thunder lost its roar-Nasiha was about to change the environment. Scott's legs started to shift, he was ready to move. The sound of the air horn rang through my ears as Scott ran towards me. He was moving faster on full power and my eyes could barely catch up to him. I shot a blast for the bars on his chest but he zigzagged past it. Before I could fire with a second shot he flung an arm against my throat. The impact of his lariat knocked me to the edge of the arena; it probably would have decapitated me if I wasn't a meta. My body slammed against an invisible wall, as I was rising I could see Harlan racing towards me again. The ground began to shake as trees, bushes, and rocks started to rise. I don't know what Nasiha was planning, but at least those tremors had slowed Harlan down.

"Take this!" I shouted, as I blasted the ground in front of his feet. He hurdled over it with ease moving into the path of the well timed second blast I aimed for his chest. Harlan briefly smirked as the blue aura reappeared before the blast could collide with his body. I jumped to a rising tree and looked down at Harlan. The blast knocked him back but he was virtually unscathed. The wind had gotten harsher and flurries of snow blanketed the room. I jumped from tree to tree until I climbed up a redwood near the center of the arena. I needed to restrategize. Harlan's too strong to fight at close range, he's too fast for me to hit at long range, and his shield blocks all blasts at mid range. Damn! I'm officially out of options, if I want to win I'm gonna need to use the _chaos shot_.

**Meanwhile, at Belle Reve:**

Agent Brown and Elijah were led towards the warden's office by a couple of guards. As they approached the door Charlie pulled Elijah to the side and said "Listen, when we get in there just let me do all of the talking. Waller and I go way back," Brown affirmed. "To be honest, I think the poor girl is still in love with me. I tend to have that effect on women," Brown stated as Carter rolled his eyes. "Just remember to let me handle this, she might glare at you and make you feel uncomfortable but trust me, her bark is much worse than her bite."

"Wait-she's not going to actually bite us is she?" Carter asked.

"Um…probably not, but even if she does, it still wouldn't be the worst conversation I've had with her." Brown replied.

Elijah shook his head in despair, his whole body tensed up as Agent Brown grasped the handle of the door.

"Good luck!" One of the guards muttered as they walked away.

Agent Brown casually walked into the room as Elijah cautiously followed. "Amy!-How's it going?-Pretty good from the look of it," He said. Charlie gazed up and down her body, then quickly sat down in a chair. "Well the years have certainly been kind to you; I see you're looking as beautiful as ever."

"And you're still such a charmer," she replied, lightly grinning. "Now what do you want!?" She asserted, as her grin quickly turned into a scowl.

Simultaneously Carter withdrew into his seat while Charlie leaned forward. "The DEO just needs you to release an inmate into our custody," Brown said in a pleasant manner. "If you do this for us I'll owe you one."

Waller rolled her eyes, "As I recall, you still owe me 3 and which inmate are you interested in?"

"Her name is…" Charlie began to mumble, "Mable Lowery."

"That's never gonna happen Charles."

Brown shook his head, "Now never say never; and why not, isn't she only here on a possession charge?"

"Lowery is pure trouble!" Waller exclaimed in a menacing fashion. "Since she came here she's opened two narcotics rings for the Begonia Cartel, escaped twice, and allegedly murdered 4 inmates and a one of my guards."

"Now Amanda, we can easily take this above your head and have her pardoned." Brown reminded her.

"Then try that," the warden retorted, "But don't expect me to release her. If you ask me, she's right where she belongs."

Brown sighed, he wasn't surprised that **the wall** would call his bluff, but he always had a habit of being persistent. "C'mon Amy, there's no need to shoot the messenger, I'm just acting under the Director's orders."

"Then tell your Director that he can kiss my a**! I'm not one of his employees, so I don't have to obey his orders." She said, springing from her seat glaring into Brown's eyes. Elijah immediately flinched as the Warden sprang up but Charlie stared straight back. A brief but tense silence encompassed the room before Brown started chuckling. "I already told Bones you'd probably say that. It's good to see you haven't changed."

"You haven't changed either Charlie," Waller said in a more soothing voice. For an instant her voice rang with nostalgic warmth. This gave Elijah some relief before the Warden glared at him, freezing him into his seat.

"I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but I need this inmate released. Amanda, the DEO knows that you've been using prisoners for covert ops."

Waller stared blankly into his eyes then smirked, "You're bluffing Charlie! You've always had a lousy poker face."

Agent Brown reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a USB drive. "See for yourself," he said whilst plugging the drive into her computer. Instantly a video popped up on her computer of two men standing in a stadium filled with dead bodies. One of the men was a young metahuman, the other was the infamous assassin Deadshot. The video replayed the same ten seconds of Deadshot shooting his teammate in the face over and over again. Charlie looked back at the warden and said, "We had more footage at the Base, but I figured I'd just cut to the good stuff."

The smirk faded from Waller's face, she knew that if this went public it would ruin her. "Fine Brown, you can have the prisoner, but when this all blows up in your face, just remember that I warned you. She's currently in solitary confinement; I'll have her moved into a visitation room shortly."

"That's all I needed to hear Amy!" Brown said as he rose from his seat. Charlie and Elijah both walked to the door before they halted. Agent Brown turned around and said "By the way, don't worry about filling out her release papers, that USB drive I plugged in released a virus that will erase Lowery's entire criminal record. It's one of the many perks of working with a talented hacker. You can keep the drive too; I'd hate the thought of leaving you without something to remember me by." As Agent Brown and Carter exited the room they both heard a cacophony of profanity behind the door of the Warden's office. Brown turned to Eli and said "I think she took that pretty well." The both giggled as the proceeded to the visiting Room.

**Back at the Arena:**

As the snow continued to fall, Harlan began to walk around the trees in search of his opponent. "Show yourself Cavanaugh! You can't hide from me much longer." Scott shouted. Suddenly a blast was fired from behind Scott's back, he rolled to his left grabbing a rock from the ground and hurled it at the tree were the blast originated. The rock smashed through the center of the tree as it collapsed along with several of the trees behind it. Harlan laughed "Your pretty clever James, let me guess, you think that if I can't see where your energy blasts are coming from then I can't pull up my shield to block it. Well I'll give you a hint…you're only half right."

"_He's smart"_ James thought in his head, _"With just one attack he already dismantled my entire strategy. And what did he mean when he said I was half right.—Is there a flaw in his shield and if so how do I exploit it? Either way the more time I give him to think the less likely my odds look on winning or even surviving for that matter."_ James ran quickly across a path of branches,__"Let's see how you like this." he sneered before firing nearly a dozen shots at Harlan, each blast coming from different directions and distances.

Scott smiled, "Now that's what I'm talking about. Let's finish this!" He evaded many of the shots and the blue aura took out the rest. As this was occurring, both men were already planning their next moves, each now knowing how to defeat the other. Though reality was now moving so fast, both of them felt like it was all happening in slow motion. As Harlan dodged incoming blasts, he moved in towards James and shattered the next tree that Cavanaugh was about to jump to. Harlan pulled out a combat knife from the waistband of his pants. James grinned and dove directly down at Harlan. As he pulled back his hand for another blast he could see the blue particles of Harlan's shield moving into place. Scott threw the knife directly at Cavanaugh's forehead; but just before the knife could connect; James pressed his foot against the shattered tree and corkscrewed his body around Harlan. Scott turned in amazement seeing James falling upside down extending his index and middle fingers at Harlan's chest. Unlike all of the prior blasts the energy was now compressed in a tiny ball, it looked like a tiny red marble with purple vapor spewing from it. Scott stared into James eyes realizing what just happened, "Dammit!" he cried as James fired the chaos shot. The explosion shattered the capsules and bars on Harlan's shirt and knocked him against the opposing wall of the arena. The recoil of the blast flipped James onto his feet.

The environment disappeared returning the Arena into a blank room. Nasiha's voice rang in over the PA system "Scott, I'm sending in some medics to move you to Section 3. James you should get looked at too." Nasiha's tone in voice had shifted, she sounded much warmer to James and less defensive.

As Scott was lifted on a gurney he waved to Cavanaugh, beckoning him to come closer. As James approached the stretcher Scott said "You're pretty tough Cavanaugh I'll give you that, but don't let this victory go to your head, I'll always be ready for the next round."

James smiled "I wouldn't have it any other way. Now let's go to medical you look like you've been shot with a cannon." As he trailed behind the medical team James felt a sharp pain in his head. Small streams of blood trickled down from his nose and eyes. "Not again," James said, quickly cleaning his face before anyone noticed.

**Belle Reve Prison:**

Carter and Brown both sat down waiting for the prisoner to arrive. Agent Brown turned to Elijah and said "Why don't you do the talking this time?"

"Are you sure I should handle this?" Elijah asked.

"Why not? It will give you some valuable experience. Besides, it shouldn't be too hard to convince a prisoner to take a get-out-of-jail-free card. Just make sure she signs the documents." Brown replied. "You can handle this can't you?"

Carter nodded "Um…yeah—Yes, I've got this."

"Now that's what I like to hear." Brown said encouragingly.

Four guards entered the room, wheeling in a young woman in an orange jumpsuit. The prisoner was heavily constrained to her seat. An assortment of chains, ropes, and handcuffs were tightly coiled around this inmate's body. After the guards had positioned her, they removed the blindfold and the muzzle from her face.

Despite a few bruises and a messy appearance, Lowery was actually a very attractive woman. She had fiery red orange hair that ran down to her shoulders, along with thin silver streaks that cut across her temples. Her eyes had a hazel color and orange flecks that fractured through her pupils. Though it was hard to see underneath all of the restraints, Mable had a slender physique and had an average height.

Once the guards closed the door, Carter began to speak. "Ms. Lowery, I take it you don't know why you were called here to speak with us."

Lowery grinned, "Well my first guess was that it was for a conjugal, but you two don't seem like you're into bondage." She rattled her chains and briefly giggled.

"We're here with the Department of Extranormal Operations," Elijah explained. "We'd like to use recruit you into one of our teams."

Her lighthearted demeanor transitioned to a mildly annoyed expression. "Sorry, I don't work well with others. My answer's no."

"Why would you refuse the chance to be free?" He asked.

Mable scoffed, "What you call freedom I call slavery. Tell me Agent Carter, have you read my file?"

"I have," he confirmed.

"Then you should already know that I descend from an ancient line of Magic users known as the Dreis." She reported with pride. "For millennia, my people have been hunted down like dogs by rivaling clans and non magi such as yourself and do you know why we're hunted?"

Elijah shook his head.

"Because we are different," she affirmed. "And that's all your agency does, you hunt down people who are different."

"You're wrong about us Mable. We hunt down our targets because they're dangerous, not because they are different. The D.E.O. just wants to make the world a safer place."

Lowery smirked again, "Dangerous criminals, terrorists, insurgents, these are all semantics. You're just using different words to promote the same bulls #t that your superiors trained you to believe. If you weren't so naïve I might pity you, but the truth is you're just a pawn to be used and thrown away on a whim. Your only purpose is to take another piece off of the board, not to win the battle in the long run, but simply because your king can command you to do so without question. In the end this game will keep going on over and over again, whether we choose to play it or not. Are we done here?" She asked.

Carter looked at Brown for assistance and the Senior Agent smiled back at him in amusement. Elijah exhaled, before making another attempt to recruit the convict. "Your file tells me that you have a son named August."

"And your point?" Lowery responded.

"In fact, both times you escaped it was to visit your son on his birthday." He added. Elijah stared deeply into her eyes and asked, "Do you love him?"

Mable yanked her body forward in anger. "Of course I love my son, what kind of stupid question is that!?"

"Then I'm wondering why a mother who claims to love her son is leaving him to grow up without her, even when she's being given the opportunity to be with him again."

Carter was anticipating another outburst from Mable but instead she calmly replied, "Because he's safer without me there. I've made many mistakes in my life, but staying here isn't one of them."

"And how is locking yourself away in a cage going to help either of you?" Elijah inquired. "Mable you know this is a mistake, you have a chance to use your powers to help us make a difference in the world, but instead you're hiding from your problems. The world might always have evil or corrupt people in it, but if we don't fight them we're just as responsible for what they do as they are. So either sign these forms, or call the guards to take you back to your cell, but know that I'm glad to be a pawn if it keeps us all from losing."

Lowery sighed, "Fine, Where do I sign?" She asked.

"Right here…and there." Charlie pleasantly interjected. "Welcome to the Core Group Ms. Lowery."

Agent Brown and Carter both rose from their seats. "I'll get the guards remove those chains and ropes."

"No need," Mable said rising from her chair as each restraint fell to the ground. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."


End file.
